If you ever needed evidence that you never know what may happen when two Texas high school football teams take the field on a given Thursday, Friday or Saturday, then this weekend’s games did a good job of proving it.

I say this because we had so many people in recent weeks ask us in our weekly Wednesday high school football chats about a potential Katy-Euless Trinity matchup.

Sure, it was possible and it was fun to think about the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams in the state meeting head-to-head, but when it comes to high school football, you never know. The talent in Greater Houston is deep and that’s been illustrated by how many new programs have done well in recent years.

Then you take a program like Pearland, who has been a perennial power in its own right ever since Tony Heath and his staff came in around the late 1990s and changed the culture and it makes it all the more difficult for a team to get out of the region unscathed. Memorial, a team whose record is far from perfect, has done what you want a team to do – take care of the football and execute its game plan well and that has helped them eliminate some teams that may have been faster or more explosive.

I’m sure when folks saw Cypress Woods running through the Division II Region III bracket with its high-octane offense, it seemed to be almost a formality that the Wildcats would win their first regional title. But Memorial proved it has a high-powered offense of its own – albeit less flashy and not quite as diverse as Cy Woods’ – in pulling off its victory.

I’ll be honest – I thought Katy and Cy Woods were going to be the teams that won the two local 5A games on Saturday. I’m sure many others did too, and I’m sure there were plenty that thought Memorial and Pearland would win. The latter two did and both made for great stories – Pearland the power but in the underdog role and Memorial going from almost missing the postseason to its first semifinal in more than 30 years.

Both will join La Marque, Friendswood and Coldspring in pursuit of a state championship this week when they move on to the semifinals. Will they win and get to Arlington? It’s anybody’s guess.

But Jenny Dial and I had a blast this weekend. Jenny referenced in her story Pearland’s 16-15 win over Cy-Fair back in 2006, which also took place at Rice Stadium. When I left Tully Stadium on Saturday, I mentioned to one of the Spring Branch ISD officials that Memorial’s dramatic win over Cy Woods reminded me of the Class 5A Division II Region III title game in 2006 when Cypress Falls upset Katy on that very field.

Interestingly enough, both games were similar in that they were dramatic endings, both were played at the same sites on a Saturday afternoon in the same round (state quarterfinals) and Jenny and I were sitting in our same seats that we were this Saturday. They made for great stories and memories then and the same applies now.

What was your biggest takeaway or memory from this weekend? What did you think of how the games played out and the incredible season that these five area teams have turned in so far?

Here is another side to the amazing memorial mustangs; there are 17 Academic All-State players on this team.This is the week leading up to finals so there is even more pressure on these boys than one suspects.As awesome as the state semi finals are, many of these boys excel just as much or more in the classroom as on the field.

Memorial — Best High School running attack I have seen in the last 30 years. Boomer and Wayne have incredible instincts and deceptive speed and quickness. They are successful even when the opposition put 9 or 10 players in the “BOX” on defense.

I was one of the Pearland fans in the stands at the game. There aren’t a whole lot of high school football games that can draw over 40,000 fans, but the Pearland v Katy match did — and it did not disappoint. There was an electricity in the stadium from before kickoff until the final whistle. The best part was how close the game ended. Both teams left it all on the field, both teams played pretty good football. But you want our favorite moment/memory from the game. I could easily say Sam Ukwuachu’s catch to win the game with :47-ish seconds left, but my moment was the final Katy offensive play of the game. I saw the interception, and after a moment of shock my eyes settled on the jersey number of the one who’d caught the ball. Katy had effectively shut him down most of the game. He had a few decent rushes, and a few catches for good yards. But Katy was taking care of him for the most part. Then he comes in and grabs the interception showing an amazing vertical ability to boot. I’ll never forget that moment, though I won’t forget most moments from the game truthfully. Thank you Katy for an awesome game. Thank you Pearland for one more game! On to San Antonio!

These games are what make Texas high school football the greatest game around. You watch these teams play and forget that you have 17 and 18 year old boys out there laying it on the line.

Gary Koch at Memorial gets more out of kids than anybody around. They are always prepared, play hard, and are never out of the game. His clock eating drives in the second half won the game for Memorial.